An Illinois woman was mauled to death by pet French bulldog, officials say

Jessica Flores USA TODAY

Thursday

May 14, 2020 at 11:27 AM

A suburban Chicago woman was fatally mauled by a French bulldog that she recently adopted that had been bred to fight, authorities said.

Lisa Urso of Ingleside, Illinois, was found unresponsive on the patio of her home on Saturday. Investigators said that she died from an attack from one of the three dogs she had. The 52-year-old woman had a second French bulldog, which was found with some blood on it, and a border collie.

The French bulldog is a smaller breed that is not typically associated with deadly attacks.

“I hate to say it, but unfortunately, it was a vicious attack,” Lake County Coroner Dr. Howard Cooper said. “You don’t really think about it happening with a smaller dog breed, but we forget animals can be powerful,” he said. “This animal has a lot of jaw strength.”

Cooper said the dog attacked Urso inside her home before she made it out to the patio, where she died. Urso had bite wounds and scratches on her arms, legs and torso.

Cooper told the Chicago Tribune that only one French bulldog had a history of biting, and that it is impossible to know whether it was the only dog that attacked Urso.

The dog thought to have killed Urso will be humanely euthanized, the Chicago Tribune reported. Cooper said the dog weighs about 55 pounds.

Officials said the dog had recently attacked Urso's boyfriend. Urso then requested to get her dog back after it was taken by the Lake County Animal Care and Control.

In Illinois, the state law says that an animal control agency determines whether a dog is "dangerous." The owner must then pay $50 public safety fine and have the dog neutered or spayed and micro-chipped. A dog is deemed "vicious" if it has been found to be "dangerous" on three separate occasions.